Coronavirus Australia live news: Protests ensure WA border stays closed and may delay economy reopening
Western Australia’s border will remain closed for a ‘considerable period’ amid fears the weekend’s protests could spread coronavirus, Premier Mark McGowan says.
- Cormann lashes ‘selfish’ protesters
- Fears rallies could bring second wave
- Most NSW protesters ‘well-behaved’
- Melbourne protest organisers to be fined
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has criticised protesters for “recklessly” attending mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations across Australia. Meanwhile health officials are on guard against a spike in coronavirus cases after tens of thousands of people attended the protests.
Associated Press 8.50pm China defends its coronavirus response in new report
Senior Chinese officials have defended their government’s actions, saying Beijing had provided information in a timely and transparent manner.
China “wasted no time” in sharing information such as the genome sequence for the new virus with the World Health Organisation as well as relevant countries and regional organizations, according to a lengthy report on the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which was released on Sunday.
An Associated Press investigation found that government labs sat on releasing the genetic map of the virus for more than a week in January, delaying its identification in a third country and the sharing of information needed to develop tests, drugs and a vaccine.
National Health Commission Chairman Ma Xiaowei did not address the specific findings in the AP report, but said it “seriously goes against the facts”. He added that there were many unknowns in the early stage of the outbreak and that it took time to gather evidence and figure out the characteristics of the new virus.
“The Chinese government did not delay or cover up anything,” he said. “Instead, we have immediately reported virus data and relevant information about the epidemic to the international community and made an important contribution to the prevention and control of the epidemic around the world.”
He ticked off a series of government actions from a detailed timeline in the government report. The timeline says China began updating the WHO on a regular basis on January 3 and that the head of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention briefed the head of the US CDC on January 4.
READ MORE: Minister slams China’s racism claim, travel warning
AFP 7.50pm: Britain to reopen places of worship
Britain’s places of worship will reopen “for private individual prayer” on June 15 as it continues to ease coronavirus restrictions.
Services and worship groups will still be banned due to concern that the virus spreads more quickly in enclosed spaces, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said on Sunday.
“People of all faiths have shown enormous patience and forbearance, unable to mark Easter, Passover, Ramadan or Vaisakhi with friends and family in the traditional way,” Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said.
“We are now able to move forwards with a limited but important return to houses of worship.”
Britain’s official COVID-19 death toll of 40,465 is second only to the US.
But cases across Europe have fallen off sharply and Britain is now cautiously proceeding with partial school reopenings and the resumption of basic business activity that ended when the country shut down on March 23.
Mr Johnson’s government also intends to reopen all stores on June 15. Restaurants and pubs will be allowed to seat a limited number of customers in a week.
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Reuters 6.45pm: Malaysia reopens economy
Malaysia says it will reopen nearly all economic activity and allow interstate travel starting on Wednesday, lifting coronavirus restrictions imposed nearly three months ago as it moves to revive an economy battered by the pandemic.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced in a televised address on Sunday that the novel coranvirus outbreak was “successfully” under control and Malaysia would begin a new recovery phase until August 31.
“I am aware the government cannot control your lives forever to control the virus,” Mr Yassin said.
The government will ease restrictions on social, education and religious activities in phases with health guidelines in place, and businesses will be allowed to return to normal operating hours.
Mr Yassin encouraged domestic holidays as travel between states will be allowed, but said international borders would remain closed.
Entertainment centres such as theme parks and night clubs, sports that involve close contacts and events involving a large gathering of people would be barred.
Malaysia had gradually reopened businesses over the past month with social distancing protocols, after shuttering all non-essential businesses and schools, banning public gatherings and restricting travel on March 18.
The pace of new coronavirus infections in the country, which in March was among the highest in Southeast Asia, has slowed in recent weeks. The number of known infections was at 8303, with a total death of 117, as of Saturday.
“Health Ministry statistics showed that the rate of infection amongst local residents is lowering and under control,” Mr Yassin said.“We will enter a normalisation phase from August 31 onwards until a vaccine is found.”
Malaysia’s fiscal deficit will nearly double to about 6 per cent of annual economic output this year because of the government’s recent efforts to revive the economy, the Finance Minister told Reuters on Saturday.
READ MORE: Reforms do not include GST change: Cormann
Paul Garvey 4.55pm Protests ensure border stays closed
Western Australia’s border will remain closed for a “considerable period” amid concerns the weekend’s Black Lives Matter protests could add to community transmission of coronavirus, Premier Mark McGowan says.
And Indigenous state Treasurer Ben Wyatt has urged people planning to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Perth to find other ways to express their anger, warning that indigenous people faced elevated risks from the coronavirus.
Mr McGowan stopped short of banning the rally, planned for Hyde Park next Saturday, but urged protesters to maintain physical distancing and not exceed the state’s 300-person limit on outdoor gatherings.
Noting that four more Victorians had been diagnosed with coronavirus on Sunday, Mr McGowan said the state’s border closure would remain closed.
“They will be in place for a considerable period of time and we haven’t worked out as yet when they will come down,” he said.
“But we have to be confident there is no community spread in the east before they come down.”
Demonstrators at protests across the country at the weekend were branded “reckless and irresponsible” by federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
Mr McGowan said organisers of the upcoming Perth rally should make an application to the state’s police commissioner for an exemption if they intended to exceed the state’s 300-person limit on outdoor gatherings.
Mr Wyatt said Western Australia had done more than any other state to protect indigenous people from the outbreak, adding he feared the state’s success in fighting the virus could be jeopardised by mass gatherings.
He said protesters should look at April’s Anzac Day ceremonies, which saw people commemorate the moment in driveways and backyards across that state, as an example of how to make a statement amid the pandemic.
Read the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 4.20pm: Link between abattoir cases confirmed
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed a genomic link between a coronavirus case detected in a worker at Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats on April 2 and the 110 other COVID-19 cases subsequently linked to the facility.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has previously defended DHHS’s decision to take “on face value” the employee’s claim he had not attended work for weeks when he tested positive and cited privacy laws as their reason for not checking his story with Cedar Meats.
Professor Sutton last month went as far as to describe the fact that the worker tested positive on April 2 and dozens of others began testing positive later in April as “a coincidence in a sense”.
“That early individual hadn’t given it to the later individuals, but they’re probably all linked through some undetermined family and friends,” Professor Sutton told 3AW.
On Sunday, Professor Sutton’s deputy, Annaliese van Diemen, confirmed a genomic link between the cases had been detected.
“The cases are genomically linked to one another,” Dr van Diemen said.
“We still don’t have any information to tell us that that person did attend the workplace either before or after they were infectious, so we are looking at how the virus may have been spread around the community via other contacts, but it’s quite possible that we won’t ever know 100 per cent exactly how this virus has been introduced into that workplace.”
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos last month ridiculed the suggestion that the April 2 case was related to the others, saying: “Unless the virus got into a car itself and went to Cedar Meats, there is no way that virus could have been connected to that worksite.”
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Christine Kellett 4pm: Medical chief urges protesters to get tested
Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer has called Saturday’s mass protests around the country “unfortunate”, urging anyone who develops COVID-19 symptoms to get tested immediately.
Professor Paul Kelly said the use of the COVIDSafe app would be crucial in contact tracing any outbreaks at the protests, “but most people with a mobile phone have not downloaded it”.
“Black lives do matter, all lives matter. I absolutely understand the depth of feeling,” Professor Kelly said on Sunday.
“This is not a blame game at all. We can’t roll back time. It happened, now we have to wait and watch.”
Professor Kelly said he was pleased to see many of the protesters wearing masks, which would have offered them some protection where social distancing was impossible, but “those mass protests yesterday were not cautious”.
“This could spark an increase in the number of cases and this is what we were trying to avoid,” he added:
READ MORE: The uncivil war killing liberalism in the West
Rachel Baxendale 3.10pm: Rallies a risk, says van Diemen
Victorian Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen says large gatherings such as Saturday’s Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne present a “not insignificant risk” of transmitting COVID-19.
Thousands of protesters marched from state parliament to Flinders Street Station in response to the death at the hands of US police of George Floyd, and the 434 indigenous Australian deaths in custody since the royal commission into the issue was handed down in 1991.
The protesters attended in defiance of Premier Daniel Andrews and Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton’s advice that they should not attend due to coronavirus directions restricting gatherings to a maximum of 20.
With the support of the Andrews government Victoria Police opted to issue protest organisers with $1652 fines, but not to fine other attendees.
Asked on Sunday whether health authorities would consider easing restrictions earlier than planned if there was no spike in COVID-19 case numbers as a result of the protest, Dr van Diemen said Victoria had a plan to ease restrictions.
“But ... large numbers of people for whom we don’t have clear contact details and don’t have an ability to determine who was present do present a risk, and that’s not an insignificant risk and something we need to remain aware of,” said Dr van Diemen, who sparked controversy in late April when she posted a tweet comparing Captain Cook to coronavirus on the 250th anniversary of Cook’s landing.
Asked whether she believed protest organisers had followed Department of Health and Human Services advice, Dr van Diemen said their consistent advice had been “that it was our preference for people not to attend the rally and the directions were clear that people ought not attend the rally and that that was really for the health and safety of the wider community, and Victorians in general.”
“Those gatherings do present a risk, and we are aware of that risk, and we will continue to monitor for any further cases as a result of that, and we would encourage, strongly encourage anybody, whether they’ve attended the rally or not, to get tested if they show any symptoms,” Dr van Diemen said.
READ MORE: Protesters urged to get tested
AAP 2.55pm: WA tackles COVID pain with home grants
A wave of home-building and renovation work is the goal of a $444m stimulus package unveiled by the West Australian government as it struggles to pull the state economy out of a coronavirus-induced downturn.
The bulk of the package is $319m to build, buy, renovate and maintain social housing across the state, including at remote Aboriginal communities. But the talking point is $117m worth of $20,000 cash grants to anyone building a new home, including properties in a development under construction, that they plan to either live in or own as an investment.
Premier Mark McGowan said the grants were available to foreign and interstate investors.
Mr McGowan defended the decision to not means test applicants or apply property value caps, saying the package was about stimulating the construction sector, which had seen few contracts signed in the past two to three months.
“While it may mean that some people on some higher incomes may be the beneficiaries, the main point of it is to get people back to work, to get apprentices on the job, to keep trainees there and to get more people employed,” Mr McGowan said on Sunday, urging all local councils to speed up approvals.
“You can always consider means testing and perhaps in a non-pandemic environment that’s what you’d do but ... we need to get building happening.”
Applicants must sign up by the end of the year and can also vie for the federal government’s $25,000 HomeBuilder payment announced last week. First home buyers can also apply for the state government’s existing $10,000 grant and stamp duty concessions, bringing the total potentially available to them to almost $70,000.
Housing Industry Association WA director Cath Hart said West Australia had the nation’s shortest project pipeline of just 13 weeks, and construction sector workers and tradespeople would be “breathing a sigh of relief”. The state government says now is the time to build a residence while interest rates are at record lows.
The WA economy is forecast to slump into recession next financial year, with the pandemic delivering a $12bn hit.
No new cases of the virus emerged overnight on Saturday, leaving the state’s active cases at 31.
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Joe Kelly 2.14pm: Medical panel weighs consequences of protests
The medical expert panel advising the national cabinet on the COVID-19 pandemic is meeting this week to weigh up the consequences of the Black Lives Matter protests and is not ruling out delaying the timeline for the re-opening of the economy.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that the protests across the nation’s capital cities had an “inherent risk of virus transmission” and those who participated were encouraged to get tested and stay home if they were displaying flu-like symptoms.
“In particular we are deeply concerned about the widespread lack of physical distancing and the risks that that poses, both to participants and their subsequent contacts,” the spokesman said.
“The incubation period for the virus is 5-7 days on average, but can be as long as 14 days. We encourage all people who attended the protests to be vigilant in watching for the onset of any respiratory infection symptoms, or other signs of a cold or flu.”
“Anyone showing symptoms, however minor, should arrange for a COVID-19 test as soon as possible and stay home until the result is known.”
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Christine Kellett 2pm: ‘Utter double standard’: Cormann fires back
Mathias Cormann is refusing to back down after Labor branded his criticism of Black Lives Matter protesters “tone deaf’.
The Finance Minister, who called demonstrators marching on capital cities on Saturday “reckless and selfish”, said the issue of indigenous equality was legitimate, but there were other ways to get the message out.
“How do we say to a businessman that is not allowed to open, in order to help us stop, slow down or suppress the spread of the virus that we are going to have tens of thousands of people gather like they have on the east coast? There is a complete and utter double standard here,” Senator Cormann told a press conference in WA on Sunday.
“Of course we fully respect the right to protest. But right now, many Australians have lost their jobs as we impose restrictions on the economy in order to save lives, to suppress the spread of the virus, people have been unable to attend funerals of their loved ones to help stop the spread of the virus.
“If you go to a cafe right now you have got to leave your name and your address to help stop the spread of the virus but we are going to have a mass gathering of tens of thousands of people in complete breach of the rules. It is absolutely reckless and irresponsible and it shouldn’t be happening.”
“We can’t essentially force people into unemployment in order to protect the health of the community to save lives and at the same time say it’s fine to have tens of thousands of people gather.”
READ MORE: Protest could trigger health ‘catastrophe’
Kieran Gair 1.55pm: NSW ‘no new local transmissions’ run hits 11 days
NSW has now recorded 11 days without any local transmissions of COVID-19 after health authorities said zero cases were reported from 9207 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday.
The NSW director of Health Protection, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said on Sunday that one previous case had been excluded, bringing the state’s total to 3109.
He also said there were 70 people being treated in hospital but that none were in intensive care.
Dr McAnulty, however, warned that a resurgence in cases in NSW could still occur.
“It’s likely the virus is still circulating among people within the community with quite mild symptoms,” he said. “As such, the risk of outbreaks and a resurgence of cases remains so it’s essential that everyone maintains social distancing.”
The only infections reported since May 27 have been in hotel quarantine.
More than 565,000 COVID-19 tests have been carried out in NSW.
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Christine Kellett 1.30pm: Burney urges Cormann reality check on protests
Indigenous MP Linda Burney says Mathias Cormann’s criticism of Black Lives Matter protesters across the country are not helpful, and he should consider why so many felt the need to take to the streets yesterday.
Senator Cormann, who called protesters selfish and reckless in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been slammed as “tone deaf” by Labor.
Labor’s Ms Burney said she understood the frustration of protesters who wanted to have their voices heard about indigenous inequality in Australia.
“They made individual decisions understanding what the legal and the health risks were,” Ms Burney said.
“They took the action that they did and it is important that people understand why people took those actions and the level of anger and frustration, that particularly young people are feeling.”
She said protesters had behaved themselves.
“It seems to me that yesterday’s protests were stately, they were well organised, and from all reports, without a lot of incident, and that is really, really important
“I am not going to get into a two and fro between myself and Mathias Cormann. Except to say that it would be helpful, I think, for him to look at the record (of indigenous disadvantage in Australia) and look at what the reality is in the state that he represents.”
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Lachlan Moffett-Gray 1.05pm: First new case in ACT in more than a month
There has been one new case of COVID-19 recorded in the ACT in the past 24 hours. This is the first new confirmed case to be recorded in the ACT since 25 April and brings the ACT’s total to 108.
The individual is a male aged in his 40s who has been in quarantine since arriving recently from overseas. A small number of close contacts have been identified and are also in quarantine.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman is “confident there has been no risk to the broader ACT community”.
“The case is, however, a good reminder of the ongoing pandemic and the need for our community to continue to observe physical distancing and hygiene measures, and for people to stay home if they are unwell.
“The case is also a demonstration of how important it is for us to maintain a high level of testing in the community.
A total of 104 cases in the ACT have recovered from COVID-19 and have been released from self-isolation. There are currently no COVID-19 patients in Canberra hospitals. The ACT has recorded three deaths and the number of negative tests in the ACT is now 20,379.
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Rachel Baxendale 12.01pm: Four new coronavirus cases in Victoria
There have been four new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Victoria in the past 24 hours, bringing the state’s total to 1685.
Three of the four were detected in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, while the fourth case was in a household contact linked to the McDonald’s Fawkner outbreak, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to 13.
Victoria’s COVID-19 death toll remains 19, with no deaths in recent days.
There have been 177 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Victoria that have been acquired through unknown transmission, which is unchanged from Saturday.
There are currently 70 active cases in Victoria.
Currently six people are in hospital, including two patients in intensive care. 1593 people have recovered.
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Joe Kelly 10am: Protest criticism ‘tone deaf’: Marles
Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles has blasted criticism by the government of Saturday’s Black Lives Matter protests as “tone deaf,” warning that indigenous Australians had worse outcomes for child mortality, education, employment and incarceration.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told Sky News the protesters who attended the mass demonstrations were “reckless,” “incredibility selfish” and “incredibly self indulgent.”
“It does impose unnecessary and unacceptable risk onto the community,” Senator Cormann said.
Mr Marles hit back, warning the comments from Senator Cormann felt “tone deaf” and argued that he was not in a position to brand indigenous Australians as selfish and indulgent for taking to the streets.
“I’m not about to engage in that kind of judgment about those who did it,” he said.
Mr Marles — Labor’s defence spokesman — said he would have preferred it if protesters did not take part in the rally, but acknowledged that Australia had a “major issue in this country.” He rejected suggestions the demonstrations were “imported” from the US following the killing of black man George Floyd in the US city of Minneapolis by a policeman.
“We’ve got a major issue in this country,” Mr Marles told the ABC’s Insiders program. “To suggest that this is something which is imported, is patently ridiculous. And to say to those who are standing up against it and to do something about it, that this is an act of selfishness and indulgence, is wrong.”
Mr Marles said he would advise people not to attend mass gatherings given the health risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, but understood the issue of indigenous disadvantage was a “vexed issue.”
“I advise people not to go, which I did in the lead-up to this weekend. But there’s a difference in that and engaging in that kind of commentary of those who have made this decision,” Mr Marles said. “I think this is really difficult. I don’t think that this is an easy call. I’ve made my call, but I understand those who made a different call and I understand the issue that’s out there. And I don’t think that the people engaging in it are selfish or unintelligent.”
READ MORE: ‘Seeding event’: protesters urged to get tested
Christine Kellett 9.30am: Cormann blasts ‘selfish, irresponsible’ protests
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has criticised protesters for “recklessly” attending mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country yesterday.
“It’s quite irresponsible what we’ve seen there,” Senator Cormann told Sky News.
“As I think about the heartbreak of families who haven’t been able to attend funerals for their loved ones because they were doing the right thing by taking the health advice, my heart just goes out to them. I mean, as they see people going recklessly to these sorts of demonstrations, that must be just awful for them to watch.
“I think it is incredibly selfish. It’s incredibly self indulgent. And yes, it does impose unnecessary and unacceptable risk on to the community.”
READ FULL STORY here.
Agencies 8.50am: Huge crowds descend on White House
Aerial footage shows the sheer size of crowds massing in Washington DC for a super Saturday of protests in the Black Lives Matter movement.
This is #BlackLivesMatter plaza in Washington, DC. Right now.
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) June 6, 2020
There is no stopping this movement. pic.twitter.com/eV5hwBXHP1
Organisers had reportedly called on a million people to march on the White House.
In contrast to this time last week, the atmosphere appears peaceful.
The event coincides with a memorial for George Floyd in North Carolina today.
The view looking back south at the White House from Scott Circle is something to behold. That’s about a half mile of an unbroken crowd straight up to the fence at Lafayette Park. pic.twitter.com/6MvekBfkh7
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) June 6, 2020
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Agencies 8.20am: Rush to trace contacts of man who took virus to Qld
Health officials are tracking down everyone who came in contact with a Melbourne man diagnosed with COVID-19 after flying to Bundaberg in Queensland. The 24-year-old flew to Brisbane on Monday, where he socialised with friends and family, before flying to Bundaberg, checking into shared accommodation and working a shift at a strawberry farm.
Dr Jeannette Young, the state’s chief health officer, said he was infectious the whole time.
The man’s family and friends are being tested while under quarantine, a testing clinic has been set up on the farm where he worked, and four other people in the same accommodation have so far tested negative.
Contact tracing is under way for anyone who travelled from Melbourne to Brisbane on Virgin VA313 on Monday and from Brisbane to Bundaberg on Virgin VA2905 on Tuesday.
Dr Young is urging Queenslanders to be on high alert and get tested if they have symptoms rather than waiting for a phone call from an investigator.
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Agencies 7.45am: Indonesia records worrying COVID milestone
Indonesia reported nearly 1,000 new cases of the virus on Saturday, a new single-day high for the country that brought its total caseload past 30,000, as the government unveiled a stimulus package worth $47.6 billion to anchor the virus-battered economy.
The health ministry said there were 993 newly infected people over the past 24 hours. Indonesia has confirmed 30,514 cases, including 1,801 deaths, the most in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, Italy added another 270 confirmed coronavirus cases to its official count, including a cluster of two dozen more cases at a Rome hospital that has been sealed off to contain the spread.
The Italian civil protection agency on Saturday also reported the deaths of 72 more people with the virus. Italy’s official COVID-19 death toll now stands at 33,846, but officials say the real mortality figure in Europe’s one-time coronavirus epicentre likely is much higher.
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Glenda Korporaal 7.10am: ‘New collar’ jobs to shape post-COVID work
Former leading industrialist Andrew Liveris says Australians should stop thinking in terms of creating white-collar or blue-collar jobs and recognise that future manufacturing employment will be seen as “new-collar” jobs.
“As supply chains and factories become digital, as both existing factories get modernised and new modern factories get built, the skills to operate and build and deliver products and services to the consumer will be higher in technology content, and geared to a human/machine interface,” he said.
“These jobs will no longer be categorised as white-collar or blue-collar, but as new-collar jobs. They will be higher quality, less physical and more interesting. They will be available to high school or university graduates. Education will need to be modified to allow access to all for these skills.”
Read the full story here.
The Times 6.30am: Japan develops ‘virus-killing’ fabric
A Japanese team has developed a fabric that can zap viruses and bacteria using tiny charges of electricity generated by movement of the material itself, but it comes with no promises against the coronavirus.
The fabric, called Pieclex, harnesses the harmless electricity generated by the natural movement of a human body – like the static electricity that makes a person’s hair stand on end after taking off a sweater.
The “piezoelectric fabric”, which is derived from plants, could be used for sports clothes, underwear, nappies and sanitary products, as well as the kind of face mask worn to keep the coronavirus at bay.
Read the full story here.
Agencies 5.5 0am: Black Lives Matter protests staged worldwide
Taking a knee, banging drums and ignoring social distancing measures, outraged protesters from Sydney to London on Saturday kicked off a weekend of global rallies against racism and police brutality.
The death at police hands of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in the US state of Minnesota, brought tens of thousands out onto the streets during a pandemic that is ebbing in Asia and Europe but spreading in other parts of the world.
In Paris, riot police held back a crowd of several thousand who gathered outside the US embassy for an unsanctioned event.
Another in the French city of Metz ended with a few dozen people breaking into a courthouse and lightly injuring several security officers.
Smaller, youth-driven protests were staged outside US embassies in Warsaw and Sofia, while in Germany they included Bundesliga footballers, who warmed up in “Red card to racism #BlackLivesMatter” shirts and took a knee prior to kick-off.
“How many more?” asked a poster held up in a crowd of thousands in Frankfurt, while hundreds rallied across town squares of Belgium and the Netherlands.
In North Carolina, a long line of cars snaked its way down a highway as mourners arrived for a viewing and memorial service at a church not far from Floyd’s hometown.
And hundreds knelt and applauded in the street ahead of another mass rally in Washington, where Mayor Muriel Bowse renamed the area outside the White House “Black Lives Matter Plaza”.
The protests have even resonated in war-scarred countries such as Iraq, where the “America Revolts” and the Arabic phrase for “We want to breathe, too” hashtags are spreading on social media.
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Agencies 5.30am: Black Lives Matter protests could bring second wave
Health officials are on guard against a spike in coronavirus cases after tens of thousands of people attended Black Lives Matter protests around the country.
Twenty thousand people marched in Sydney and crowds rallied in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and some regional cities and towns on Saturday despite public health warnings.
Protests were held in solidarity with those in the US, sparked by the death of African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Although many demonstrators wore face masks and used hand sanitiser, the crowding made it impossible for most to maintain social distance.
The prime minister and health authorities had warned people not to attend demonstrations, which were held on a day when just two new local coronavirus cases were reported and two historical cases came to light.
In Queensland, a Melbourne male in his 20s was discovered to be infectious with COVID-19 when he flew to Bundaberg via Brisbane for a fruit-picking job last week.
Western Australia also recorded one new case relating to overseas travel, with the person in hotel quarantine, the WA Health Department said. The department said serology testing confirmed a couple, who returned from overseas in March and completed their quarantine period, had also had the virus. There were no new cases reported in the country’s two largest states, NSW and Victoria.
Australia has had just over 7250 confirmed COVID-19 cases while the death toll remains at 102. — AAP
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Kieran Gair 5.15am: NSW police say most protesters well behaved
Police have praised the behaviour of most of the estimated 20,000 protesters in Sydney on Saturday following the city’s Black Lives Matter rally.
“The NSW Police Force is pleased that all protests this afternoon across NSW remained peaceful,’’ the force said in a statement, with only three arrests.
“High-visibility policing operations were launched to facilitate planned protests … and ensure the safety of participants, as well as the community and local businesses.
“Demonstrations also took place this afternoon at Newcastle, Byron Bay, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Wyong, Wagga Wagga and Broken Hill.’’
Protesters clashed briefly with police at Central Station after the main rally, and at least two officers used pepper spray, with up to 30 people in the firing line.
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Angelica Snowden 5am: Police to fine Melbourne protest march organisers
Thousands of demonstrators marched to Federation Square in Melbourne’s Black Lives Matter yesterday, while others converged on police stations in Bourke and Swanston streets chanting “no racist police”.
Wurundjeri leaders led the mourning for Aboriginal lives lost in police custody at the demonstration that started on the steps of the Victorian Parliament.
One speaker remarked that it took the death of an African American man to put the spotlight on the deaths of indigenous Australians.
“We all bleed red because we are human,” another speaker said, to shouts of support from the crowd.
Police yesterday confirmed they would fine issue $1652 fines to members of the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, the organisers of the Melbourne rally, for breaching the directions of the chief health officer.
READ MORE: Paul Kelly — The uncivil war killing liberalism
Sonia Kohlbacher 4.45am: Demonstrators call for justice in Brisbane rally
Thousands of people flocked to inner-city Brisbane to protest police brutality against indigenous Australians and call for justice for those who have died in custody.
Crowds spilled from King George Square to neighbouring blocks, with people packing stairwells and balconies to get a view while others brandished signs calling for reform in Queensland and across the globe.
Speakers, including elders, traditional owners and African Australians, detailed police brutality against members of their own families and the racism they had experienced.
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Tim Dornin 4.30am: ‘This is about us coming together as people’
All Australians have been urged to “walk alongside” the Aboriginal community in a show of solidarity as thousands gathered for a Black Lives Matter rally in Adelaide.
Saturday’s protest filled large parts of Victoria Square, after police gave special permission for the event to proceed despite COVID-19 restrictions.
Many of those attending wore masks and made some efforts to socially distance, though large groups appeared to be in close contact.
Speaker Jack Buckskin welcomed the large turnout, telling the gathering whether Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal, they were all part of the same society. “This is about us coming together as people,” he said.
“Today we stand united. Our movement happens with people. We want people to walk alongside us. This is what Aboriginal people have been asking for.”
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